Boss Dyche already working on Burnley’s tilt at the top flight

BURNLEY manager Sean Dyche says Premier League plans will not be ironed out until the end of their promotion-winning Championship campaign, although he admitted some groundwork had already been laid.

The Clarets boss revealed tentative in-house discussions were held between him and his staff having opened up a considerable gap in second place.

However, there was a reluctance to look too far ahead until a top-two finish was guaranteed.

Now, while Dyche is determined to see out a successful season in style, starting with today’s visit of Ipswich Town (kick-off 12.15pm), rounding off with a trip to Reading as the club seeks to hit the 90-point mark for the first time, he is determined to use the four-week headstart on whoever wins the play-offs.

The Burnley boss, for whom promotion cost less than £500,000, has yet to be told the extent of his transfer kitty.

“We’ve got board meetings coming up,” he said.

But Dyche, who made Ashley Barnes his only cash signing after spending nothing on his summer recruitment drive, confirmed that he would continue to spend wisely to safeguard the future of the club.

“We’re looking at budgets and possibilities and we’ll be as open-minded as we can.

“But I think it’s fair to say we won’t be signing people from Manchester City. The lower end of the market as regards finance is probably going to be where we shop.

“There may well be players at clubs who still want to be in the Premier League, it depends which clubs and which players,” said Dyche, when asked if he was monitoring the current relegation picture.

“My challenge is to continue to construct a team that can be competitive. That was our marker last season so that won’t change.

“You can never guarantee anything. I think you can guarantee your team competes but you can’t guarantee every outcome.

“We have to be sensible as a club but we also have to be competitive so it’s finding that right balance enough to allow us the chance to be competitive but not break the bank and kill the club for the future. It’s important that balance is found.”

With promotion worth around £120million to the Clarets, Dyche is looking to use some of their earnings to develop his scouting network, but admits they are not there yet.

“People always say to me, ‘You're not really interested in foreign players.’ I’ve never been at a club to scout them. At Watford we had two ha’pennies and here we’ve got two ha'pennies,” he said.

“You can’t bring a player in just because you’ve heard they’re decent. You have to scout them, you have to look at them, you have to get the stats on them, you have to check them out.

“If they were Martians and they were good at football they’d do me, as long as they’re cheap. ”

Of his pre-planning he added: “We’d done some work, some background stuff just aligning different things.

“Some things you have to do, the Premier League send out certain requirements to all clubs - not just ours - that all clubs should have a look at the requirements.

“But as regards the players and the staff we know about contracts, we know about possibilities, we know about players who are out there and we’ve done a bit of background on that.”

There destiny is determined now, but when it comes to new recruits and finalising the futures of existing players Dyche will wait until the closed season.

“We’ll see what the next few weeks brings,” he said.

“The players will all be spoken to after the final game because we want to keep the mentality clear for all.”

Burnley will be presented with the Championship runners-up trophy and individual medals for players after today’s final home game of the season.

And the club have requested for supporters to stay off the pitch so that the ceremony can take place without a hitch.

We're all realistic about the challenge facing us, but the long term existence of Burnley Football Club has got to be more important than spending unwisely and finishing up with the threat of administration. I believe we can give Dyche a decent transfer kitty whilst still maintaining the integrity of Burnley Football Club. This time round, we're more prepared for the challenges facing us, and I also feel that Dyche is also a man of integrity who isn't going to leave mid season and rip the heart out of the club, unlike a previous incumbent. So even knowing that we're very probably looking at a relegation battle, I'm ready to enjoy the season!

We're all realistic about the challenge facing us, but the long term existence of Burnley Football Club has got to be more important than spending unwisely and finishing up with the threat of administration. I believe we can give Dyche a decent transfer kitty whilst still maintaining the integrity of Burnley Football Club. This time round, we're more prepared for the challenges facing us, and I also feel that Dyche is also a man of integrity who isn't going to leave mid season and rip the heart out of the club, unlike a previous incumbent. So even knowing that we're very probably looking at a relegation battle, I'm ready to enjoy the season!masher50